


december 17th: caught between the moon and new york city

by watergator



Series: december fic advent 2020 [17]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Comics)
Genre: Fluff, Getting Back Together, Human AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28132848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watergator/pseuds/watergator
Summary: prompt: stargazingnew york city and north carolina can often feel worlds away when your heart is aching for something, or someone
Relationships: Woody Dirkins/Michelangelo
Series: december fic advent 2020 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035978
Comments: 1
Kudos: 17





	december 17th: caught between the moon and new york city

The sky in North Carolina is different to the sky in New York City.

Mikey realises this as he looks up from where he’s sat on the porch, realising that the night sky is full of stars, lighting up the velvety blanket above him like a million droplets of fire.

He’s squinting up at the sky when there’s footsteps coming up behind him, a squeak of the door as it flops back shut.

“Feeling existential yet?” Woody’s voice floats from beside him as he sits down heavily next to him, and there’s a cool beer being pressed into his palm, which he gladly takes.

“What do you mean?” He asks, bringing the bottle to his lips, pausing only slightly to gage his reaction, smiling when he watches his curl around a small smile.   
  
“Stars, galaxy. All that crap,” Woody shrugs, taking a long, slow sip, giving a refreshed gasp when he pulls away to look at Mikey. “Something about feeling so teeny tiny in the vast openness of the universe.”   
  
Mikey lets out a laugh that echoes around the openness, the wind carrying it away into the distance.    
  
“Is that what living in the country does to you?” He asks slyly. “Gives you enough time to sit down and think about all that?”   
  
Woody chuckles, taking another sip. “Nah,” he says with a shake of his head, his blonde bangs sweep over his forehead carelessly. “Living in the city just makes you ignorant to it all,” he grins and Mikey just looks down with a smile pulled between his lips.   
  
“Of course you’d say that,” he says, finger tracing the rim of the bottle. “Isn’t there a reason you left New York?”   
  
Woody hums. “Same reason you stayed,” he muses, and they catch eyes for a moment before looking away again, gazing up at the sky.   
  
It’s quiet out here, the far away sound of crickets singing in the distance, and Mikey feels a million worlds away from the busy city. It seems impossible that both these places even exist on the same planet.   
  
“Would you?” Woody finally speaks, looking back at Mikey. “Would you ever leave?”   
  
Mikey chews the inside of his cheek before he sighs heavily, running his hands through his curls, letting them flop back over his eyes again.    
  
He knows that realistically he would be pained to leave New York. It’s always been home to him; the city and him breathe the same air and the buzz of that atmosphere runs under his skin as thick as blood.   
  
He looks at Woody; his farmer's tan visible from where the sleeve of his dirtied shirt is rucked up his arms. There’s a faint scar across the bridge of his nose that he vaguely remembers the story of. New York is home, he has family there - a group of brothers waiting for him on his return.   
  
But Woody is something different.   
  
“What about you coming back to the city?” He challenges instead, and Woody just laughs into his bottle, it makes a small melody before he presses it to his lips and gulps, wiping at his chin as he pulls it away again.   
  
“What, and miss out on all this?” He asks, gesturing wildly.    
  
Mikey glances up at the sky. It  _ is _ something incredible, he must admit. And there’s not so many stars in New York. 

“What about the food though?” He laughs. “You can’t lie to me and say you haven’t craved a New York pie at least once since being out here?” He says, leaning in to bump his shoulder with his, and Woody laughs.

“Mike,” he says, quirking a brow. “North Carolina does have a Domino’s. And plus, that’s what JetBlue miles are for. I’ll come down for a slice every now and then.”   
  
Mikey’s stomach flips. “Domino’s isn’t the same and you know it,” he argues. Then, “You’d come and visit?”   
  
Woody looks at him, smile relaxed and warm like it always is and he cocks his head to one side like a dog.   
  
“Why wouldn’t I?” He asks and Mikey shrugs, taking a glug of his beer to avoid answering.   
  
There’s more silence between them, growing and stretching out as the wind sings and the crickets chirp.   
  
“If you think it’s too much…” Woody starts but his voice trails off, quiet and unsure and Mikey turns to him, almost losing his balance as he grabs his forearm with his hand, their eyes meeting.   
  
“No,” he says quickly, swallowing the dryness in his throat like a lump. “No,” he says again, softer. “I’d like that.”   
  
Woody grins, lopsided and goofy.   
  
“Me too,” he whispers.   
  
Mikey’s hand remains on his arm until it slips away, and he looks back up at the stars.   
  
“Do you think when we’re old, we’ll be looking at the same stars?” Mikey asks after a while and Woody gives an airy laugh.   
  
“Are these the kinds of questions Donnie ignores?” He asks and Mikey just laughs.   
  
“I think they’d be burnt out by then,” he answers and Mikey frowns.   
  
“Oh,” he says softly. Woody nudges his knee with his.   
  
“But new ones burn. Gases and shit,” he shrugs and Mikey hums, looking up at them carefully, like he’s trying to map and memorise them all.    
  
Then, there’s a gentle hand on his knee and he looks to Woody who has a sleepy look about him.   
  
“I like the stars, Mikey,” he whispers and Mikey can’t help but flicker his eyes down to his lips back up to his eyes again.   
  
“Same,” he says back. HIs heart is kicking hard against his chest and his hands are so sweaty it feels like he’s gonna drop his beer.   
  
He leans forward, pressing their foreheads together, breathing in one another when Woody opens his mouth.   
  
“I can’t go to New York,” he tells him and it’s like a rock in his stomach as the words reach him.    
  
He just closes his eyes and ignores the tight pain in his chest.   
  
“I know,” he whispers back. “And I can’t stay.”   
  
He opens his eyes and Woody is looking right at him, he inches closer, skin pressed to skin, and then, lips catching lips.   
  
He sucks on his bottom lip, his tongue, tastes the beer in his mouth, the faint tingle of cigarette smoke from earlier before they’re pulling away.   
  
“I’m sorry,” Woody whimpers but Mikey just grabs his free hand and shakes his head.   
  
“Please don’t say that,” he assures him, voice cracking. “Don’t be sorry.”   
  
Woody sucks in a breath. “I miss you. I miss you so much.”   
  
Mikey lets out a wet laugh and Woody leans against him. “I miss you too,” he whispers.

“Come back to me,” Woody says, almost slurring his words. “Come back to me before all the stars burn out, please?”   
  
MIkey squeezes his hand. It’s so hard being so far apart. Broken hearts, headaches and one side of a bed cold and empty when there’s the warm air here and a warmer person to love.   
  
He’s not sure how it’ll work - his heart caught between here and New York City, but he knows in time, things will untangle and become as clear as the night sky.   
  
He kisses Woody again, slowly this time, breaking away to whisper,   
  
“I promise.”   
  
Woody smiles, eyes sparkling. “Yeah?”   
  
“Yeah,” Mikey nods, pressing his lips to his forehead, lingering there as he murmurs.   
  
“Let’s go indoors,” he whispers. “The stars will be here tomorrow night, and the night after that.”   
  
Woody sniffs. “And will you? Will you be here?”   
  
Mikey just gives him a wobbly smile back. “You’ll always have me,” he tells him, voice cracking from how heavy his words feel. Because they’re true. They’re always true.    
  
No matter if he’s in New York or North Carolina or anywhere else in the world where the stars are bright or faded, or a million miles away in a velvety blanket sky, he knows that he’ll always have Woody, and Woody will always have him. No matter what, they’ll have each other. 

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr !! @watergator


End file.
